Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) Short Interest Up 23.8% in February

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 15th, 2023

Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO – Get Rating) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,250,000 shares, an increase of 23.8% from the February 13th total of 1,010,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 419,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diageo

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH purchased a new stake in shares of Diageo in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Diageo by 681.8% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Diageo in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diageo Trading Up 1.0 %

DEO opened at $172.75 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $176.52 and a 200 day moving average of $175.64. Diageo has a 52-week low of $160.09 and a 52-week high of $212.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Diageo Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.5187 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Diageo’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Diageo from GBX 5,010 ($61.06) to GBX 5,100 ($62.16) in a research note on Friday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Diageo from GBX 4,350 ($53.02) to GBX 4,500 ($54.84) in a report on Thursday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Diageo from GBX 3,900 ($47.53) to GBX 3,600 ($43.88) in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Investec upgraded Diageo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group dropped their target price on Diageo from GBX 4,500 ($54.84) to GBX 4,200 ($51.19) in a report on Friday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4,081.00.

Diageo Company Profile

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Diageo Plc engages in the production and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Its brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JeB, Buchanan’s, Windsor and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray, and Guinness. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America; Europe and Turkey; Africa; Latin America and Caribbean; Asia Pacific; ISC; and Corporate and Other.